Machines for assembling shoe upper parts on lasts



Nov. 29, 1955 Filed April 22, 1953 F. SEABURY IL, EIAL MACHINES FOR ASSEMBLING SHOE UPPER PARTS ON LASTS 3 Sheets-Sheet l Q Q o I Z6 w L34 3 ,1 3a- M0 w w 25 m 22 ,6

w [nuen {any Charles K Woodman J r'ank eabwy, lI

Nov. 29, 1955 F. SEABURY n., ETAL 2,7 ,8

MACHINES FOR ASSEMBLING SHOE UPPER PARTS ON LASTS Filed April 22, 1953 v v 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnventars f6 Charles Kpf oodman Frank Jeabur'g ZZ 94 I .1. neg

NOV. 29, 1955 UR 1 ETAL 2,724,844

MACHINES FOR ASSEMBLING SHOE UPPER PARTS ON LASTS Filed April 22, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 [771/871 tars Charles KWoodman Frank Jeaburyjl United States Patent MACHINES FOR ASSEMBLING SHOE UPPER PARTS ON LASTS Frank Seabury II and Charles K. Woodman, Beverly,

Mass, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application April 22, 1953, Serial No. 350,356

25 Claims. (Cl. 12-1) This invention relates to machines for use in the manufacture of shoes and is herein illustrated in its application to machines for assembling shoe parts on a last. The invention is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine of the type disclosed in a number of patents including United States Letters Patent No. 1,602,618, granted October- 12, 1926, on an application filed in the name of Norwood H. Knowlton. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to mahines of the type illustrated in the Knowlton patent, :ertain features of the invention being of more general application to machines for operating on boots and shoes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide in a machine of the type above described means for gaging the position of a shoe upper on its last before fastenings are driven to secure the upper in its assembled relation to the last. it is a further object of the invention to improve the work supporting organization of shoe machines generally and particularly of assembling machines by providing in the work supporting organization suitable means for determining the orientation of the shoe with relation to the operating instrumentalities of the machine.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the present invention in one aspect thereof consists in the provision in a shoe machine, having shoe supporting means, of a back line gage for use in determining the position of the back line or back seam of a shoe upper with relation to the last on which the shoe is to be made, and means actuated by movement of a shoe on the support to advance the back line gage from a retracted position into gaging position. In the illustrated oragnization the back line gage is brought into gaging position by the manual movement of a shoe on the support against the action of a spring which tends to return the gage to its retracted position. The illustrated back line gage is carried in a head at the upper end of a shoe supporting spindle and is mounted in the head for angular movement to and from gaging position. For mounting an upper on its last a slide is mounted in the head of the spindle and suitable connections are provided between the slide and the back line gage for causing movement of the slide to swing the back line gage to and from gaging position. The illustrated slide is provided with means for determining the orientation of a shoe thereon. In the illustrated organization the orienting means includes an ear projecting from the slide and arranged to register with a complementally shaped 2,724,844 Patented Nov. 29, 1955 itself by contact thereof with other parts of the machine. In the illustrated organization the locking means comprises a bolt mounted in the work supporting assembly and a cam member for advancing the bolt and holding it in locking position.

To facilitate and expedite the removal of the shoe from the work support in the event that the last is not readily disengageable from the last pin, a last ejector herein illustrated as a hand lever is fulcrumed on the work support and is operable to move the last heightwise relatively to the support.

These and other features of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a left side elevation of a machine embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in left side elevation of a portion of the work supporting mechanism, partly in section on the line IIII of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the work supporting mechanism partly broken away to illustrate a locking element for holding the back line gage in its retracted position shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view similar to Fig. 3 showing the locking element in locking position;

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line VV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 isa left side elevation illustrating the upper portion of the work supporting assembly with the heel end portion of a shoe thereon and the back line gage in gaging position;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the heel end portion of a last and a shoe upper on the work support with the back line gage shown in gaging position; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of the cone portion of a last illustrating particularly the structure of a metal plate attached to the last and serving to cooperate with means on the work support for orienting the last relatively to the operating instrumentalities of the machine.

The illustrated machine is similar in its general organization and in most of its details of constructionto the machine illustrated in the Knowlton patent hereinbcfore referred to. Machines of this type are provided with a work supporting spindle for mounting the heel end portion of a last arranged in inverted position, a.

lined upper and a molded counter having been manually assembled on the last and being held on the last manually during the operation of the machine. The work supporting spindle is manually swung rearwardly by a heelward movement of the shoe by the operator and during such heelward movement a depressor 10 (Fig. 1) at the upper end of an arm 12 engages an insole on the last bottom and moves the last and upper together with the upper portion of. the work supporting assembly downwardly to position the last and upper at the proper elevation for the wiping and tacking operations of the machine. The position of the last and upper lengthwise thereof relatively to the operating instrumentalities of the machine is determined by the engagement of the heel end portion of the upper with abutment members in the form of V-blocks mounted one above the other and arranged to be engaged by the upper as it advances heelwardly into the machine. During the latter part of the movement of the work supporting assembly a rod 14, pivotally mounted on an arm 16, which mounts the work supporting assembly, actuates a one-revolution clutch mechanism to initiate the power cycle of the machine. During the first part of the machine cycle a cam member or hook 18 is swung downwardly by a power energized spring 19 into engagement with a roll 20 carried by a rearward extension 22 of the arm 16,

thus imparting a further increment of rearward movement to the work support thereby to clamp the upper between the last and the abutment members and to hold the work support against return movement during the operation of the machine. Thereupon a wiper advances toewardly to wipe the lasting margin at the back line portion of the upper toewardly over an insole on the last bottom, and two tacks are driven vertically downwardly to secure the lasting margin to the insole in overwiped position. The machine is also provided with means'for driving tacks horizontally through the heel end portion of the upper adjacent to the back seam and into the last to hold the upper in assembled position on the last.

While the work supporting assembly is in its retracted or rest position, shown in Fig. 1, a back seam gage member herein illustrated as a bent finger 24 is swung upwardly into its gaging position shown in Figs. 6 and 7 to enable the operator to adjust the heel end portion of the upper on the last so that the back seam registers accurately with the gage member, as shown in Fig. 7. The illustrated gage member or finger 24 is pivotally mounted on the intermediate cylindrical portion of a headed screw 26 (Fig. 3) mounted in the rear portion of a rectangular head 28 formed integrally with a stem 30 slidably mounted in a tubular spindle 32 comprising the upper portion of the work supporting assembly. The stem 30 is positioned longitudinally of the tube 32 by the engagement of a pin 34 mounted in and projecting radially from the stem 30 in any one of a series of spirally arranged notches 36 (Fig. 6) formed in a collar 38 freely mounted on the stem 30 and supported by the upper edge face of the tubular spindle 32. The stem 30 is held against rotation in the tubular spindle 32 by a pin 37 (Fig. '1) mounted in the stern and projecting radially therefrom through a longitudinal slot 39 in the tubular spindle. The gage finger 24 is provided with a hub 40 which is bored to turn freely on the cylindrical shank portion of the screw .26. Mounted to rotate on the screw 26 with the hub 40 is a pinion 42 constructed and arranged to mesh with rack teeth 44 (Fig. 2) formed in and projecting downwardly from the rear portion of a slide 46 mounted in a recess 48 extending longitudinally of the head 28. To provide for the mounting of the slide for movement relatively to the head 28 the head has tongues 50 (Fig. extending longitudinally along the opposite side walls of the recess 48 and registers with grooves formed in the opposite sides of the slides 46. Referring to Fig. 2, the slide is normally held at the limit of its rearward movement by a spring 52 mounted in a bore extending longitudinally of the head 28 from its forward end and confined between a screw plug 54 mounted in a threaded counterbore in the forward end of the head 28 and a pin 56 mounted in the central portion of the slide 46 and projecting downwardly therefrom through a slot 58 formed in the head 28 and communicating with the bore in which the spring is mounted. As shown in Fig. 2, the lower end portion of the pin 56 is slabbed off to receive the rear end of the spring 52. The spring 52 normally holds the slide 46 in its position shown in Fig. 2, this position of the slide being determined by the engagement of the p n 56 with the end wall of the slot 58. When the slide is in this position the gage finger 24 is swung downwardly into its retracted position illustrated in Fig. 2.

' In this position the lower end portion of the gage finger is shielded between parallel plates 60 and 62 projectmg upwardly from a bracket 64 formed integrally with a collar 66 fixed to the tubular spindle 32. Mounted in and projecting-upwardly from the rear portion of the slide 4'6 is a last pin 68 constructed and arranged to receive the usual thimble 70 (Fig. .8) in the heel end portion of a last 72. In order to provide clearance for the movement of the gage finger 24 between its retracted position shown in Fig. 2 and its gaging position shown in Fig. 6 the rear portion of the stem 30 has formed therein a groove 74 (Fig. 2) the bottom of which is disposed at an acute angle to the axis of the stern. At its upper end the groove 74 communicates with a recess 76 in the rear portion of the head 28. The recess 76 is a downward extension of the recess 48 in which the slide 46 is positioned and provides clearance for the rotation of the hub 40 and for the operation of the rack 44 and pinion 42 which operate the gage finger. The recess 76 communicates with a groove 78 in the rear end portion of the slide 46 which provides clearance for the shank portion of the gage finger when the finger is in its gaging position shown in Fig. 6, the bottom of the groove extending upwardly with a rearward inclination and being substantially parallel to the shank portion of the gage finger when the finder is in its gaging position.

In order to permit the cam hook 18 to bring the shoe mounted on the last pin 68 into engagement with the abutment members with substantial force in order to clamp the shoe securely in position to be operated upon by the operating instrumentalities of the machine, means is provided for locking the slide 46 against movement relatively to the head 28. It will be seen that the locking of the slide not only insures the clamping of the shoe in the machine but also prevents any movement of the gage finger from its retracted position shown in Fig. 2 by the action of the cam hook 18 thus preventing possible damage to the gage finger or to other parts of the machine. The illustrated locking means comprises a headed bolt 80 (Figs. 3 to 5) the stern of which is mounted in a bore 82 in the left wall 84 of the head 28, said bore communicating with a countersunk recess 86 in the slide 46 when the slide is in its position shown in Fig. 3. The head of the locking bolt slides freely in a counterbore 88 formed in the wall 84 coaxially with the bore 82. The end of the stem of the locking bolt 80 is rounded for locking engagement in the recess 86 in the slide 46, the construction and arrangement of the bolt and the recess being such that the locking bolt is readily displaced from locking position by movement of the slide 46 when the locking bolt is free to move to the left from its position in Fig. 4 to its position shown in Fig. 3. In order to hold the locking bolt in locking position during the power cycle of the machine a cam member or slide 90 is mounted at the left side of the head 28 and arranged to engage the head of the locking bolt 80. To provide for the mounting of the slide 90 a longitudinal slot 92 (Fig. 6) is formed in its central portion to receive a head screw 94 mounted in the left wall 84 of the head 28, and a yoke 96 (Fig. 5) is secured to the rear portion of the head, said yoke having its inner portion re cessed so as to cooperate with the side wall of the head 28 to provide a housing in which the rear portion of the cam member 90 is slidably mounted. During the rearward movement of the work supporting assembly the rear end of the cam slide :90 engages an abutment member or plate 98 fixed to the forward portion 100 of the machine column. Continued movement of the work supporting assembly after the cam slide 90 engages the plate .98 causes the head 28 to move relatively to the cam slide. During such relative movement a cam surface 102 in the forward portion of the cam slide acts on the head of the locking bolt to advance the bolt into its locking position shown in Fig. 4. When the work supporting assembly comes to the limit of its inward movement that portion of the inner surface of the cam slide adjacent to the cam surface 102 bears against the head of the locking bolt and holds it in locking position .in order to secure the slide 46 against movcmerit relatively to the head 28. During the latter part of the power cycle of the machine the cam hook 18 is swung upwardly into its position shown in Fig. 1 thus disengaging it from the roll 20 and leaving the work supporting assembly free to be swung forwardly by the operator into its position .shown in Fig. 1. During the forward movement of the work supporting assembly a spring 104 (Fig. 6) moves the cam slide 90 rearwardly relatively to the head 28 into its position shown in Fig. 3, thus leaving the locking bolt 80 free to be dislodged from its locking position by forward movement of the slide 46. In the illustrated organization the spring 104 is anchored at its forward end to a pin 106 mounted in and projecting downwardly from the cam slide 90 and at its rear end to the yoke 96.

In order to facilitate and expedite the removal of a shoe from the work support a last ejecting hand lever 108 is positioned in an open-ended slot 110 in the slide 46 and is pivotally mounted on a cross pin 112 mounted in the slide. The last ejecting portion of the hand lever is in the form of a finger 114 which is generally wedgeshaped as seen in side elevation in Fig. 2 and lies in a complementally shaped groove 116 in the slide. When a last is mounted on the last pin 68 the finger 114 occupies its full line position shown in Fig. 2 in which the bottom surface of the finger bears against the base of the groove 116 and the top surface of the finger is flush with the top surface of the slide 46. The handle of the ejector, as seen in Fig. 6, extends forwardly and downwardly from the forward extremity of the slide 46 for convenient engagement and manipulation by the operator.

In the illustrated organization the orientation of a last on the last pin 68 relatively to the operating instrumentalities of the machine is determined by an ear 118 (Fig. 2) projecting upwardly from the rear portion of the slide 46 and centrally located widthwise of the slide. The ear 118 is constructed and arranged to fit into an open-ended slot 120 (Fig. 8) formed in a metal plate 122 secured to the plane cone face of the last 72 in order to prevent angular movement of the last on the last pin 68. Cooperating with the ear 118 to hold the last against angular movement on the last pin is an ear 124 projecting upwardly from the hub portion of the last ejecting hand lever 108 and arranged to fit into an open-ended slot 126 (Fig. 8) formed in the forward portion of the plate 122.

In the operation of the illustrated machine a lined upper having a heel stiffener or a counter assembled therein'is mounted on a last having an insole attached to its bottom surface, and the assembly which is identified in Fig. 1 by the numeral 128 is mounted on the last pin which is then in its position indicated in Fig. 2. The operator swings the last on the last pin 68, as may be required, to cause the slots 120 and 126 in the plate 122 (Fig. 8) secured to the last to register respectively with the ear 118 (Fig. 2) projecting upwardly from the slide 46 and the ear-124 projecting upwardly from the last ejecting hand lever 108. The operator then draws the shoe toward him thus moving the slide 46 forwardly and swinging the gage finger 24 upwardly into its position shown in Fig. 6. The operator then sights the position of the back seam of the upper relatively to the gage finger and makes any adjustment of the upper required to bring the back seam into registration with the gage finger. While holding the upper in its position on the last determined by the registration of the gage finger 24 with the back seam the operator moves the shoe heelwardly. During the first stage of the heelward movement of the shoe the slide 46 moves relatively to the head 28 thus returning the gage finger to its position illustrated in Fig. 2. Further heelward movement of the shoe thereafter causes the work supporting assembly to swing as a unit about the pivot 130 of the arm 16. After an initial swinging movement of the work supporting assembly the upper portion of the tubular spindle 32 engages the rearwardly olfset end portion of a pin 132 carried by the arm 12 and further movement of the work supporting assembly thereafter causes the arm 12 to swing in unison therewith. A link 134 connecting the central por- 6 tion of the arm 12 to the machine frame causes the arm to move downwardly as it swings inwardly thereby operating the depressor 10 to move the shoe downwardly into position to be operated upon by the operating instrumentalities of the machine. The downward movement of the tubular spindle 32 by the depressor 10 compresses a spring (not shown) mounted in the lower portion of the spindle and bearing against a supporting rod 136 slid-v ably mounted in the base of the spindle and pivoted in a yoke 138 carried by the arm 16. The spindle 32 is locked against downward movement by the operation of the cam hook 18 which brings a detent (not shown) into engagement with ratchet teeth formed in a collar 140 fixed to the spindle.

For a more detailed description of the construction of the work supporting assembly reference may be had to United States Letters Patent No. 1,356,510,. granted October 26, 1920, on an application filed in the name of Hannah Ashton, executrix of the will of Orrell Ashton.

During the latter part of the rearward movement of the shoe and the work supporting assembly the rear endfaoe of the cam slide 90 engages the abutment plate 98 thus arresting the advancement of the cam slide. The last increment of rearward movement of the work supporting assembly thereafter causes a movement of the head 28 relatively to the cam slide 90 which causes the advancement of the locking bolt into its position shown in Fig. 4 in which it locks the slide 46 against movement relatively to the head 28. Thus, the slide 46 and the last pin 68 mounted thereon are caused to be rigid with the head 28 during the power cycle of the machine, and the gage finger 24 is positively held against movement from its retracted position shown in Fig. 2. Upon the. completion of the power cycle of the machine the work supporting assembly with the shoe mounted thereonis returned by the operator to its position shown in Fig. 1'. During the initial part of the return movement the spring 104 (Fig. 6) returns the cam slide to its normal rest position illustrated in Fig. 3 thereby rendering thelocking bolt 80 ineffectual to lock the slide 46 against movement relatively to the head 28. Upon the completion of the forward or return movement of the work supporting assembly the shoe is removed from the last pin. In the event that the last is not readily disengageable from the last pin the last ejecting hand lever 108 is manuallyswung in a clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. l, to cause the finger 114 at the rear end of the hand lever to move the last heightwise thereof relatively to the last pin thereby lifting it from the slide 46 sufliciently to permit it to be readily removed from the last pin. 1

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a shoe machine, the combination with a shoe support, of a back line gage, and means actuated by movement of a shoe on the support for advancing the' gage into gaging position.

2. In a shoe machine, the combination with a work support, of a back line gage, means operated by manualmovement of a shoe on the support in one direction to advance the gage into gaging position, and a spring for retracting the gage.

3. In a shoe machine, the combination with a shoe support, of a back line gage, and means operated by 5. In a shoe machine, a work supporting spindle, a

head at the upper end of the spindle, a slide mounted in the head, a back line gage mounted in the head for angu- 7 lar movement to and from gaging position, and rack and pinion mechanism constructed and arranged to be operated by movement of the slide to move the back line gage to and from gaging position.

6. In a shoe machine, a work supporting member, a. slide carried by said member, a last pin mounted in the slide, a back line gage mounted in the work supporting member, and means operated by movement of a shoe on the last pin for'advancing the back line gage into gaging position.

i 7. In a shoe machine, a work supporting member, a head at the upper end of said member, a slide mounted in the head, a back line gage mounted in the head and constructed and arranged to be advanced into gaging position by movement of the slide, and means on the slide for determining the orientation of a shoe thereon.

8. In a shoe machine, a work supporting member, a slide mounted in the member, a back line gage mounted in the member for angular movement to and from gaging position, rack and pinion mechanism constructed and arranged to be operated by the slide to move the back line gage to and from gaging position, and means for locking the slide against movement relatively to the member.

9. In a shoe machine, a work supporting member, a slide mounted in the member, a back line gage, means operated by the slide for shifting the gage to and from gaging position, and means for locking the slide against movement to shift the gage.

10. In a shoe machine, a work supporting member, a slide mounted in the member, a back line gage, means operated by the slide for shifting the gage to and from gaging position, means for locking the slide against movement to shift the gage, and a cam for operating the locking means.

11. In a shoe machine, a work supporting member, a slide mounted in the member, a back line gage, means operated by the slide for shifting the gage to and from gaging position, means for locking the slide against movement to shift the gage, and a cam operable by movement of the work supporting member to advance the locking means into locking position.

12. In a shoe machine, a gage for determining the position of a shoe upper on a last, means mounting the gage for movement to and from gaging position, a slide operable to shift the gage to and from gaging position, a bolt for locking the slide against movement to shift the gage, and a cam for advancing the bolt and holding it in locking position.

13. In a shoe machine, a gage for determining the position of a shoe upper on a last, means mounting the gage for movement to and from gaging position, a slide operable to shift the gage to and from gaging position, a bolt for locking the slide against movement to shift the gage, and a cam for advancing the bolt and holding it in locking position, said bolt being freely movable out of locking position by movement of the slide when the cam is retracted.

14. The combination comprising a gage for determining the orientation of a shoe upper on a last, a member on which the gage is mounted for movement to and from gaging position, a slide mounted in the member for move ment relatively to the gage, means whereby the slide moves the gage to and from gaging position, and means mounted in the member for locking the slide against movement relatively to the member.

15. The combination comprising a finger for gaging the orientation of a shoe upper on a last, a member mounting the finger for movement to and from gaging position, an actuator mounted in the member, means whereby the actuator moves the finger to and from gaging position, a bolt mounted in the member and constructed and arranged to lock the actuator against movement relatively to the member, and means for operating the bolt.

16. The combination comprising a finger for gaging the orientation of a shoe upper on a last, a member mounting the finger for movement to and from gaging position, an actuator mounted in the member, means whereby the actuator moves the finger to and from gaging position, a bolt mounted in the member and constructed and arranged to lock the actuator against movement relatively to the member, and means mounted on the member and operable by a movement of translation of the member to advance the bolt into locking position.

17. The combination comprising a finger for gaging the orientation of a shoe upper on a last, a member mounting the finger for movement to and from engaging position, an actuator mounted in the member, means whereby the actuator moves the finger to and from gaging position, a bolt mounted in the member and constructed and arranged to lock the actuator against movement relatively to the member, and a cam operable by a movement of translation of the member to advance the bolt into locking position.

18. The combination comprising a finger for gaging the position of a shoe upper on a last, means mounting the finger for movement to and from gaging position, a member, means operated by movement of the member for moving the finger to and from gaging position, and last supporting means carried by the member.

19. The combination comprising a finger for gaging the position of a shoe upper on a last, means mounting the finger for movement to and from gaging position, a member, means operated by movement of the member for moving the finger to and from gaging position, a last pin carried by the member, and means on the member for determining the orientation of a last thereon.

20. The combination comprising a finger for gaging a position of a shoe upper on a last, means mounting the finger for movement to and from gaging position, a member, means operated by movement of the member for moving the finger to and from gaging position, and a last ejector carried by the member.

21. The combination comprising a finger for gaging the position of a shoe upper on a last, means mounting the finger for movement to and from gaging position, a member, means operated by movement of the member for moving the finger to and from gaging position, and a last ejecting hand lever carried by the member.

22. The combination comprising a finger for gaging the position of a shoe upper on a last, means mounting the finger for movements to and from gaging position, a work supporting member, means operated by movement of the member for moving the finger to and from gaging position, a last ejecting hand lever carried by the member, and means on the hand lever for determining the orientation of a last mounted on the member.

23. The combination comprising a member for gaging the position of a shoe upper on a last, means mounting the member for movement to and from gaging position, a slide, means operated by movement of the slide for moving the member to and from gaging position, a last pin carried by the slide, a last ejecting hand lever carried by the slide, and an ear projecting from the hand lever and constructed and arranged to determine the orientation of a last mounted on the last pin.

24. The combination comprising a member for gaging the position of a shoe upper on a last, means mounting the member for movement to and from gaging position, a work supporting slide, means operated by movement of the slide to move the member to and from gaging position, a last ejecting hand lever carried by the slide, an ear projecting from the slide, and an ear projecting from the hand lever, said ears being constructed and arranged to register with recesses in a last to determine the orientation of the last relatively to the slide.

25. The combination comprising a work supporting member, a last pin mounted in the member, a last ejecting hand lever carried by the work supporting member, an

2,724,844 9 10 ear projecting from the member, and an ear projecting References Cited inthe file of this patent from the hand lever, said ears being constructed and ar- UNITED STATES PATENTS ranged to register with recesses in a last to determine 1024019 Perri Apr. 23 1912 the orientation of the last relatlvely to the work supporting member 5 2,039,448 Pym May 5, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS 15,390 Great Britain of 1897 

